Auditorium seat



May 23, 1933. A. H. FRASER, JR

AUDITORIUM SEAT May 23, 1933 A. H. FRASER, JR

AUDITORIUM SEAT Filed May 22, 1929 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR ALEXANDER Hl FRAs ERLJr,

BY MPM N N ATTORNEY May 23, 1933- A. H. FRASER, JR

AUDITORIM SEAT Filed May 22, 1929 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 A. H. FRASER, JR

AUDITORIUM SEAT May 23, 1933.

Filed May 22, 1929 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 May 23, 1933. A H. FRASER, JR 1,910,206

AUDITORIUM SEAT NVENTOR ALEXANDER HFR/A555372 ATTORNEY Patented May 23, 1933 unirse STATS PATE FF@ AUDITORIUM SEAT Application led May 22,

This invention relates to foldable seats or chairs and is particularly adapted for use with seats in auditoriums, theatres, churches, schools and the like which are arranged in rows.

It very often is desirable to remove the seats from auditoriums and other halls to leave the floor space clear so that the space may be used for dances, banquets or for other purposes. For this purpose the seats should be capable of being removed from the floor space and replaced as quickly and easily as possible. When removed the chairs should be folded so that they will occupy the smallest possible space. It is also desirable at times to form aisles between the seats at various places and of various widths. However, the seats or chairs should be firmly c nstructed and held in Xed position when in place.

It is an objectof the present invention to provide a novel construction for a row or rows of relatively folding seats such as that the seats may be quickly and easily folded into close proximity with other seats in the row.

Another object of the invention is to provide means by which the seats may be secured in place when in normal positions.

These and other important vobjects and features of the invention will appear from the following description of the preferred form of the invention illustrated in the drawings.

Figure 1 is a diagrammatic side view of one construction embodying the present invention with the seats in open position and certain parts shown in section;

Figure 2 is a diagrammatic front view of the construction shownA in Figure l;

Figure 3 is a plan View of the construction shown in Figure l with certain parts shown in section;

Figure 4 is a detailed view in section of a preferred type of latching mechanism embodying details of the present invention;

Figure 5 is a plan View taken on the section line 5--5 of Figure 4; y n

Figure 6 is a side vlew of the construction 1929. Serial N0. 364,976.

shown in Figure l with the seats folded, certain parts eing shown in section;

Figures 7 8 and 9 are views of details of the invention;

Figure l0 is a plan View of the seats in the 55 folded position as in Figure 6, certain parts being shown in section; and

Figure l1 is a detailed plan View of the mechanism shown in Figure 5. Y

In the form of the invention illustrated in the drawings a plurality of similar seats are arranged in rows, one behind the other, each seat being formed of an upright member 2 which forms the baci; of the seat. The Y members 2 between laterally adjacent seats 65 are ``shaped in cross section, whereas the V corresponding members on the aisles or between independent longitudinal rows of seats areL-shaped in cross section. Seats 4- are pivoted to the upright members 2 by the 70 hinges 5 and arms 6 which are U-shaped in cross section are also pivoted to the upright members by the hinges 7. Stanchions' 8 formed of channel bars are pivotally connected to thevouter ends of the arms 6 at the 75 points l() and are provided with supporting bars 12 against which the seats l rest when in their lowered positions. The stanchions 5 are pivotally secured at their lower `ends kto channel members 14 at the points 16. 80

The members l/-fl are also pivotally secured to the uprights 2 at the points 18. Each of the seats in each row is connected to the seat directly in front thereof by the channel member 20 which is pivotally secured to the 85 member le at the point 2Q- and to the upright 2 of the seat in .front at the point 24. The articulated members l-l and 20 are U-shaped in cross section and connected so that one will fold into the other when the seats are folded.

This construction of the seats renders each seat foldable or collapsible so that it may be I'folded into a very small space and in close proximity to the sea-t directly in front thereof. l/Vhen all of the seats of a row are Vfolded together they take up positions as illustrated in Figure 6 with the arms G and seats Llfolded against the upright mem- Y bers 2 and with the stanchions 8 in folded 100 relation within the channeled portions of the arms. The connecting members 14 and 20 by which the lower ends of the stanchions S are connected to the upright members 2 of each seat and to the seats in front are also folded into interfitting relation as indicated in Figures 6, 9 and 10.

The upright members of each seat are mounted upon rollers or casters 26 so that the seats may be readily moved across the floor in folding the seats together. Any of the rows of seats may be folded in close proximity to the row of seats directly in front thereof, while the remaining seats remain in their normal open position. 1f each longitudinal row of seats is independent of the laterally adjacent longitudinal rows of seats the seat may be folded while all of the remaining seats remain open.

1n order to maintain the seats in their normal open position and in predetermined spaced relation one behind another in the row latching mechanism is provided which retains each seat in its open position and in spaced relation to the other seats in the row. This latching mechanism is operable to release all of the seats and render them movable so that they may be folded merely by pushing the rear seats toward the front. When it is desired to clear a hall for dancing or for any other purpose it is merely necessary to release the latch on the rear seat in the row and push the rear seat forward, thereby folding all of the seats in the row into close proximity to each other and against the .front seat or rail. Ordinarily the seats are arranged in transverse rows as well as in rows with one seat behind another and in this case the operation of a single latching mechanism will release the latches on all of the seats in the longitudinal and transverse rows so that one .or two attendants can push all of the seats forward into folded relation with the seats directly in front in the longitudinal rows. In making aisles between the seats any number of independent longitudinal rows of seats may be folded by pushing the seats from the rear toward the seats in front until'the aisle is the length required.

The latch mechanism preferred is shown in Figure 5 as including a latch member 30 which engages under the lip 32 near the foot of the rearwardly-extending portion 34 of the T-shaped upright member 2. The upright members at the ends of transverse rows of seats are L-shaped as illustrated at 36 in Figure 4. The lip 32 under which the latch 30 engages when in the latched position preferably projects rearwardly of the portion 34 to provide suflicient clearance to permit the latch bar and housing, to be described, to be moved upwardly. A spring 38 bears against the latch member 30 to urge it into the latching position and a member 40 limits the outward movement of the latch by engagement with an abutment 42 carried by the latch bar 44 and the spring 38.

A longitudinally-movable latch bar 44, located within the housing 46 in positioned between the connecting articulated members 14 and 20 located on each side of each seat, as shown in Figures 3 and r4, and when latched will hold the members 14 and 20 in an aligned position by means of connectors 15 (Fig`-4) which connect the housing 46 to the articulated members 14 and 20 in a well known manner. The latch bar 44 is urged rearwardly in the housing 46 by means of a relatively strong spring 48 which bears against the latch bar 44 and against an abutment 50 carried by the housing 46. The latch bar 44 is connected by a hinge 52 to a member 54 located near the base of the upright member 2 and formed with a projection 56 which extends through an opening 57 in the member 2 and to which the hinge 52 is connected. The rearward face of the member 54 is inclined to form a cam 58 engagingA the beveled portion 59 at the end of the latch bar housing 46 as shown in Figure 5. The member 54 is also provided with a longitudinal slot 60 engaged by a pin 62 to guide the movement of the member 54 as it is moved forward or backward. The pin 62 is preferably the axle for the caster 26 which supports the upright member 2.

rlhe last seat in the row is not provided with a member 54 but is formed with a meniber 64 having a projection corresponding toV the projection 56 to which the hinge 52 for the last latch bar is secured. The member 64 is movable longitudinally with the latch bar 44 by means of an arm 66 engaging with the lug 68 on the member 64 and rotated by a shaft 70 to which the arm 66 is secured.

The member 7 2 connected to the front scat or rail in the row is somewhat similar to the member 54 connected to the latch bar for each of the intermediate seats in the row. This member is provided with a cam 58 for engaging the beveled end 59 of the latch bar housing 46 of the seat directly in the rear and is urged rearwardly by a spring 74 which bears directly against the upright member 2 of the front seat or against a front rail.

The latch bar 44 and its housing 46 are located between the Vmembers 14 and 20 for laterally adjacent seats as illustrated in Figure 3, and foot boards 76 are carried by the members 20 on either side of the seat so that the members 20 and latch bar housings 46 do not project above the foot boards to trip the occupants of the seat as they pass between the seats in the transverse rows.

The operat-ion of the latching mechalatch mechanism to permit the seats to be folded in close proximity to each other, the shaft 70 to which the arm G6 is secured is rot-ated to Vmove the arm 6G rearwardly, thereby drawing the latch bar 4l and latch which retains the last seat in the row in place rearwardly. As soon as the latch 3() is drawn rearwardly far enough to be disengaged from the lip 32 on the projecting portion 34 of the upright 2 of the seat directly in front thereof, the latch bar 44 ,for the next to the last seat is moved rearwardly by the strong spring 48 carried by the latch bar housing 46, thereby moving the member 54 rearwardly so that the cam 58 engages the beveled end of the latch bar housing 46 and raises the latch bar and latch above the lip In a similar way the rearward move ment of the latch bar 44 for the next to the last seat withdraws the latch 30 from the lip 32 which is carried by the upright 2 for the seat directly in front of the next to the last seat and the latch ba housing for this seat will also be raised by the. member 54 for the seat directly in front thereof. vIn this way operation of the shaft to withdraw the latch for the last seat in the row causes the latches for each of the remaining seats in the row to be released and each latch bar to be raised above the lip 32 carried by the upright member 2 of theseat directly in front.

In raising the latch bar 44 the alignment of the members 14 and 20 is broken and they are moved about their pivots by means of connectors l5 so seat is raised upwardly and thO hinge point 22 connecting the members 14 and 2O is` raised sufficiently to permit the seats to be folded into close proximity to the seat in front merely by pushing on the rear seat.

In Figures l, 2, 6, 7, 8 and l0 a front rail 2 is shown which may separate the seats rom the orchestra in a theatre or be used in any other arrangement of the seats. An. angle iron 84 is secured to the foot of the rail S2 and is provided with an opening in the horizontal vportion thereof through which a securing member'S extends. The member 86 is formed with projecting lugs 8S at its lower end which engage beneath plate 90 secured to the floor. The plate 90 has an opening corresponding in shape to the lug S8 on the member 86 so that the member cannot be withdrawn when rotated i to the dotted line position as shown in Figthat the stanchion 8 of each laterally adjacent seatsor rows of vseats whereas in other instances the seats may be joined laterally to any number of other seats. The seats may 'also be varranged in t"ansverse rows and foldable against laterally adjacent seats instead of being arrange in longitudinally extending rows and foldable against the seats in front as in the proferred form illustrated and described. The invention therefore is not limited to its use with arranged in longituilinal rows or to longitudinal rows joined to laterally adjacent rows as illustrated in the form of the invention set forth above. Furthermore the invention is not limited to the particular Yform of folding seat or latching mechanism described except as detined by the claims.

l/Vhat is claimed as new is:

l. The combination of a row of foldable seats, retaining means for each seat normal.n ly effecting the holding of said seats in one position, and means actuated by the release of one of said retaining means for releasing another of said retaining means.

2. The combination of row of foldable seats located one behind another, retaining means normally associated with each seat holding said seats in spaced position, and means actuated by the release of one of said retaining means for releasing the retaining means normally holding the seat` in front in open position.

3. A row of folding chairs comprising a plurality of chairs, the back legs of each being adapted for sliding support on a horizontal surface, arms kof each chair beingl pivoted to the baclr and to the front legs thereof, and articulated spacing bars con-A necting the back legs of adjacent chairs, the f front legs of each chair being pivoted to the spacing bar so as to besupported thereby and move therewith, andthe scat of said chair being pivoted on the back and supported on the front legs so as to permit its being v'folded with or separately from the arms, front legs, and spacing bar.

4. The combination comprising a row of seats slidably supported, aligned articulated members connecting each two adjacent seats, latch means securing the articulated members in aligned position and holding the seats in a spaced relationship, and means for releasing the latch means, said latch means including means effective to break the alignment of said articulated members upon the release of said latch means.

5. The combination comprising a row of seats slidably supported, aligned articulated members connecting each two adjacent seats,

latch means associated with each of the con-V nected articulated members securing said members in aligned position and holding the seats 1n a spaced relationship, and means operative from a predetermined position for releasing certain of said latch means, said latch means including means to release other of said latch means.

6. The combination comprising a row of seats slidably supported, aligned articulated members connecting each two adjacent seats, latch means securing the articulated members in aligned position and holding the seats in a spaced relationship, and means for releasing the latchmeans at an endof the row, said latch means including means effective to break the alignment of said articulated members upon a release of said latch means.

7. The combination as defined in claim 4, in which said latch means includes means operable at one position in the row of seats for breaking the alignment of said aligned articulated members at said one position in the row, and means operable with the aligned articulated` members of each seat for breaking the alignment of the articulated members of the next seat.

8. A row of folding chairs comprising a. plurality of chairs, the back legs of each being adapted for sliding support on a horizontal surface, arms of each chair being pivoted to the back and to the front legs thereof, and aligned articulated members connecting the back legs of adjacent 'cha i's, the front legs of each chair being pivot'ed to the articulated members so as to be supported thereby and move therewith, the seat of said chair being pivoted on the back and Isupported on the front legs so as to permit its being folded with or separately from the arms, front legs, and articulated members, means between each two adjacent seats for locking the articulated members in extended position, and means for successively releasing the locking means and for breaking the alignment of the articulated members.

9. A row of folding chairs comprising a plurality of chairs, the back legs of each being adapted for sliding support on a horizontal surface, arms of each chair being pivoted to the back and to 'the front thereof, aligned articula-ted members V*connecting the back legs of adjacent chairs, the front legs of each Chair being pivoted to the articulated members so as to be supported thereby and move therewith, the seat of said l chair being pivoted on the back and supported on the front legs so as to permit its being folded with or separately fromV the arms, front legs, and articulated members, a spring latch operable with each pair of articulated members and adapted to lock the articulated members in their extended position, means tending to move the articulated members from their extended position sufficiently to break their alignment, and means operable with the` articluated members to effect the release ofthe next latch of the row.

10. A row of folding chairs comprising a plurality of chairs, the backlegs of each being adapted for sliding support on a horizontal surface, arms of each chair being pivoted to the back and tothe front legs thereof, and aligned articulated members connecting the back legs of adjacent chairs, the front legs of each chair being pivoted to the articulated members so as to be supported thereby and move therewith, the seat of said` chair being pivoted on the back and supported on the front legs so as to permit its being folded with or separately from the arms, front legs, and articulated members, means between each two adjacent seats for locking the articulated members in extended position, and means for successively releasing the locking means and for breaking the alignment of the articulated members.

11. The combination comprising a row of seats slidably supported, aligned articulated members connecting each two adjacent seats, mechanism to effect a securing of the articulated members in aligned position to thereby hold the seats in a spaced relationship and to effect the release of the articulated members at will after being secured and to effect a breaking of the alignment of said articulated members.

12. The combination comprising a row of seats slidably supported, aligned articulated members connecting each two adjacent seats, mechanismto effect a securing of the articulated members in aligned position to thereby hold the seats in Vspaced relationship and to effect the release of the articulated members from an end of the row of seats after being secured and to effect a breaking of the alignment of said articulated members.

13. The combination as defined in claim 11, in which the said mechanism includes means operable from one position in a row of seats for breaking the alignment of said aligned articulated members at one position in the row, and means operable with the aligned articulated members of each seat for breaking the alignment of the articulated members of the next seat.

Signed at New York, New York, this 26th day of April, 1929.

ALEXANDER H. FRASER, JR. 

